Flying Saucer expanding to Sugar Land

The Flying Saucer is expanding to Sugar Land Town Square in late summer or early fall with 80 taps, two cask engines built into the bar, a larger outdoor patio and a private room that Jake Rainey is promising will host many beer dinners.

Rainey, GM of the downtown Saucer, said the room at the new place will be much quieter and more conducive to talking and learning about beer than the upstairs section of the 11-year-old Saucer at 705 Main. (Not that those downtown dinners haven’t been terrific.)

Oh, and there will be hamburgers, too — something Rainey said diners have been asking for on the downtown menu for years.

Jordan Graber / Houston Chronicle

Welcome to the ‘burbs: The Flying Saucer is opening a second Houston-area location, in Sugar Land, later this year.

Rainey will oversee both restaurants. He said the new bar will incorporate many design elements from its sister restaurant the Meddlesome Moth, the chef-driven restaurant in Dallas that has gotten a lot of good buzz from beer lovers foodies alike, with its 40-draft/80-bottle beer selection and commitment to locally sourced food.

Keith Schlabs, founding partner in the Dallas-based Flying Saucer chain, said the Sugar Land location also will have its own cellaring area and storage for a greater variety of glassware appropriate to various styles of beer. He said the new Saucer — 15th in the Dallas-based chain’s empire — will build on the expertise the company has developed over its 16-year history:

Schlabs also acknowledged there will be a Meddlesome Moth influence. Since opening one year ago, the Moth has hosted beer dinners with such craft-beer luminaries as Ken Grossman of Sierra Nevada, Greg Koch of Stone, Rob Tod of Allagash and Garrett Oliver of Brooklyn.

He was headed to a beer event when I spoke with by phone him this afternoon:

I think we’ve proved to a lot of people that good beer belongs in a good restaurant.

Rainey said the company chain has no negotiations currently active locally, but is open to further expansion in the Houston area, particularly in “any area outside the Beltway … where there are a lot of craft-beer enthusiasts.”

Schlabs said the company will continue to expand with one or, perhaps, two places per year.

In announcing the Saucer’s landing in Sugar Land, Planned Community Developers Ltd. cited “appetizers, hot sandwiches, burgers, pizzas, salads, wraps and an extensive array of micro and imported beers on tap, along with a full-service bar.” The 5,059-square-foot restaurant will be at 15929 City Walk. Rainey said it will be across from Escalante’s Mexican Restaurant and near BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse.

Representing PCD in the deal was Charles Adams, the company’s vice president of retail, according to a release. The Saucer was represented by James Namken of The Weitzman Group.